The Foreign Service Journal, March 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2015 41 show up at embassy receptions and accept invitations to lunch at my residence. And while the government never did permit us to see the four American missionaries they held for more than a year, they finally released them. Getting Our Feet in the Door Three developments help explain why the Mozambicans began to have second thoughts about their standoffish relationship with the embassy. First, the U.S. government was quick to respond to two humanitarian crises that struck Mozambique during its first two years of independence. A drought ravaged a wide swath of the most agriculturally productive provinces, and then major flooding hit many of those same provinces the next year. The regime simply did not have enough food to feed its own people, much less the thousands of refugees from Rhodesia who had sought shelter in Mozambique. Since the ban on develop- ment aid to Mozambique did not apply to humanitarian aid, the United States was quick to offer assistance. We did not ask for a quid pro quo, but our prompt shipments of food, tents and other supplies were very welcome. Second, the Mozambique government was becoming disil- lusioned with its “natural allies.” I came to understand this late in my second year as ambassador, when I received a call from Pres. Machel asking me to come in and discuss development aid. When political officer Jimmy Kolker and I arrived, we were welcomed not only by Pres. Machel, but by the minister of agri- Through these meetings, I was able to establish a close working relationship with Machel. People’s Republic of Mozambique President Samora Machel meeting with U.S. Ambassador Willard DePree in July 1980. Courtesy of Willard DePree